Two-time Olympic champion Chloe Kim led the Hydro Flask U.S. Snowboard Team at the Toyota U.S. Grand Prix halfpipe contest at Copper Mountain, finishing just off the podium in fourth place. Maddy Schaffrick was close behind in fifth.

It was a stunning sunny Colorado day at Copper Mountain, with three Hydro Flask U.S. Snowboard Team women competing in the 22-foot halfpipe. Sara Shimizu of Japan was first for the women, followed by Xuetong Cai of China and Mitsuki Ono of Japan.

It was Kim’s first comp back from injury and she threw down in standard form. Her first run was a stunner, but a hip bump on the ground as she slowed into the finish resulted in a low score. She put down both of her following two runs but it wasn’t quite enough to crack the top three.

Schaffrick landed her second two runs to take fifth place in front of friends and family. It was the first time many of them had seen her compete since she made the decision to return to competition after retiring in 2016. “It was really cool to have the support from my friends and family at the contest today,” said Schaffrick, who hails from nearby Steamboat Springs. “Coming off of the podium in China, I am excited to be back competing at a high level and it meant a lot to have the community support.”  

After hitting the halfpipe deck on her final hit in qualifications, Maddie Mastro put down a safe and clean first run that had her in fourth place and in a good podium position. However, battling a sore ankle, she decided to play it safe and pulled out of the comp in order to compete at 100% the rest of the season.

The U.S. men had a strong day, but couldn’t top the impressive Japanese team, who swept the podium. Ayumu Hirano was first, Yuto Totsuka second and Ruka Hirano third.

Jason Wolle was the top U.S. man, finishing in seventh and tying his career best result. Joey Okesson put on a stylish run for eighth place and Chase Josey once again showed composure under pressure for a solid performance in ninth place.

The halfpipe team takes a well-deserved break for the holidays before returning to the iconic Laax Open in January.

Watch the tape delayed version of the Toyota U.S. Grand Prix finals on CNBC and Peacock on Saturday, Dec. 21 at 12 p.m. ET, or on demand on Outside TV with an Outside+ membership.

RESULTS
Women’s halfpipe
Men’s halfpipe

HOW TO WATCH

Friday, Dec. 20
8:00 pm –women’s Next X snowboard street style – LIVE on XGames.com
8:45 pm –men’s Next X snowboard street style – LIVE on XGames.com

Saturday, Dec. 21
12:00 pm – women and men’s Toyota U.S. Grand Prix snowboard finals – TAPE DELAYED on CNBC/Peacock
8:00 pm  – women’s X Games snowboard street style – LIVE on XGames.com
8:45 pm – women’s X Games snowboard street style – LIVE on XGames.com 

It was a storybook start to the 2024-25 FIS World Cup halfpipe season for the Hydro Flask U.S. Snowboard Team. Last season’s World Cup halfpipe Crystal Globe runner-up Maddie Mastro clinched her first victory on the World Cup stage and teammate Maddy Schaffrick earned her first World Cup podium in her first appearance back in the bib in eight years.

Near perfect conditions set the scene for an exciting snowboard halfpipe World Cup final at China’s iconic Secret Garden Resort. The Hydro Flask U.S. Snowboard Team put four athletes through to finals: Maddy Schaffrick, Maddie Mastro and Bea Kim on the women’s side, and Chase Josey representing the red, white and blue for the men.

Coming off a podium-perfect season, Mastro looked confident at the top of the pipe, singing as she dropped into the ditch for the first halfpipe final of the 2024-25 season. Mastro set the tone for the day, throwing a clean first run complete with impressive amplitude that put her in the top spot. Teammate Shaffrick was the only rider to best Mastro’s run, scoring an 85.25 in her first final back from retirement. 

The Americans held on to the top two spots as Mastro dropped in for her second run, kicking things off with her signature double-crippler and lacing together a near-flawless performance. With coaches celebrating at the top and her teammates were stoked at the bottom, Mastro was awarded a massive score of 88.75, which put her in a position to secure the first World Cup win of her already impressive career.

Schaffrick was the second-to-last rider to drop and the final threat to mix up the podium. It had already been an impressive showing for the 30 year old, making her return to competition after an eight-year hiatus from the World Cup circuit. With that, wherever she landed in the final rankings would be her best World Cup finish of her career. Schaffrick showed veteran composure as she dropped in the Secret Garden halfpipe for the final time and put down another solid performance. Still, it was ultimately not enough to best teammate Mastro’s score. Schaffrick ended the day on the podium in third place, an impressive feat in her first World Cup since February 2016. China’s Xuetong Cai split the Americans on the podium and earned a second-place finish in front of her home crowd.

With 15 World Cup podiums to her name, Mastro was all smiles when asked what it meant to land in the top spot for the first time in her career.

“I’ve got a lot of seconds and thirds in these World Cups and this is my first on top and am I happy about it," remarked Mastro. “I came into this contest with a completely new game plan and just wanted to focus on doing my own thing. I had these goals of tricks I wanted to land and runs I wanted to put together and…it happened. This contest just set a new baseline for women’s snowboarding and I’m just really excited to be a part of it.”

For Mastro, it's a victory well worth the wait.

Coming off a breakout 2023-24 season, 17-year-old Bea Kim ended the day in seventh place, improving on each run and continuing to impress at a young age on the world stage. On the men’s side, Chase Josey showed competitive consistency under pressure, ending the day in ninth place amongst a field of heavy hitters like Japan’s Yuto Totsuka, who landed an insane final run complete with a triple cork that put an exclamation mark on his winning performance. Australia’s Scotty James took second and Japan’s Ryusei Yamada finished third.

The halfpipe squad returns home for the Toyota U.S. Grand Prix in Copper Mountain, Colorado, with qualifications set to drop on Wednesday, Dec. 18.

RESULTS
Women
Men

The FIS Park & Pipe World Cup returned to Beijing’s iconic Shougang Park for the second big air competition of the 2024-25 season. Eighty-one riders looked to throw down against the backdrop of the former steel mill, the site of the 2022 Beijing Olympic Winter Games big air Olympic venue.

Saturday, Nov. 30, qualifications featured a young American squad of seven Hydro Flask U.S. Snowboard Team rookies. In her first World Cup start, 15-year-old Lily Dhawornvej proved her place on the World Cup stage by stomping all three of her runs - a back 7 stalefish, front 7 indy and back 9 stalefish - and finished the contest with an impressive 13th place finish. Dhawornvej was joined by Hahna Norman, who followed up her first-career 1080 in competition at last month’s Big Air Chur with a respectable 17th-place finish amongst a field of heavy hitters.

On the men’s side, Brooklyn Depriest and Fynn Bullock finished within the top 30 - an impressive feat in a stacked field of riders, with only five from each heat moving on to finals. Returning to the same venue where he landed the first quad-cork in Olympic history, veteran and team captain Chris Corning punched his ticket to the big show with a fifth-place qualification finish.

With the most big air World Cup wins amongst the field of active riders, Corning’s experience was evident and he showed composure under pressure by landing all three of his runs under the lights in Beijing. An impressive combo of a back 18 melon and two front 18 melons earned him fifth place.

It was a wild and historic night as Italy’s Ian Matteoli stomped the first-ever 2160 in competition, but he was edged out for the win by Japan’s Hiroto Ogiwara by a mere four points. On home soil, China’s Wenlong Yang earned his first World Cup podium with a third-place result to round out the top 3.

The Hydro Flask U.S. Snowboard Slopestyle Team returns stateside to train at Idaho’s Soldier Mountain before heading out for a pair of big air competitions at the start of the new year.

RESULTS
Men
Women